In conversation with: DEANNA NELSON-MCKIE.
Celt Vessel-Bag (2023)
Deanna Nelson-Mckie
H: 46cm x W: 25cm x L: 10cm
Printed olive nubuck leather vessel, with printed leather front layer and top stitched veg tan handle, with ability to attach & detach from a bag to a vessel, with Sam Brown screws.
DEANNA’S ARCHIVES
Deanna’s practice is based on research, materiality and design. Her exploration of her Jamaican heritage, and her documentation of black Caribbean, and African identities makes room for her to cultivate stories, that connect past and present. Deanna’s designs and artefacts translate historical narratives, ancient past, and communicates different visions of blackness.
(Desktop: Hover on images with transcriptions to listen / Mobile & Tablet: Click on images with transcriptions to listen)
Image courtesy of Deanna Nelson-Mckie, Expression of Black Hair (2017).”My name’s Deanna Nelson-Mckie, I’m 24 years old, and I consider myself a textile artist mostly. I studied at CSM for about 4 years, studying textile design. And now I’m working on my own projects, working on collaboration as well - and focusing on who I am as an artist; and what I want to say - what I want to bring into my work as an artist.”
Beverly Buchanan, Untitled (Double Portrait of Artist with Frustula Sculpture). Black-and-white photograph with original paint marks. Brooklyn Musem.
(On why the self-discovery) “I think for me, it’s always the first step to look inwards. I always have to start with myself, no matter what I’m thinking about producing. I always have to think about my whys. Why am I doing this, why am I researching this, what is this teaching me about myself? And what do I want to take & learn from this? And then, bring it out with what do I want it to teach others as well? That’s why it always start with myself.”
Image courtesy of Deanna Nelson-Mckie. ”This project was apart of my FMP at uni. I did project on past & present Caribbean. That was a project where I was exploring the Caribbean past lifestyles, and then also comparing that & merging that with the present Caribbean. With the Celt bag, the name in itself was inspired by the celt stones that the indigenous people of the Caribbean, the Taino, they had these celt stones. When I was reading up about them, I was looking at a lot of artefacts and the celt stones were ones that came up a lot. And they were very into these really interesting mark makings on stones.
And then also the bag itself, was inspired by the shape of one of the celt stones. It’s a type of vessel, it’s a bag, but it’s also this sculpture that you can have in your house. For me I wanted it to represent both past & present Caribbean. So the prints that you see on the bag are inspired by one of Taino artefacts, and then the photograph that you see on there is of my grandmother. And that’s a photo of her in Jamaica, during my research I was looking a lot at my family photos in Jamaica - and that was in including the past & present Caribbean. Whereas the indigenous lifestyle & culture was in the past category. It was a merging of those two.”
Image courtesy of Deanna Nelson-Mckie.(On investigating the past to understand herself & the present) “Looking at that past is always something that I’m interesting in. Especially subjects in the past that we are not quite familiar with, or we’re not taught about. I like to investigate those myself, and realise that these are things I haven’t really thought of before - and I start investigating that myself. And that leads into my project, or I have an idea to create something from this research, and take it further.”
Image courtesy of Deanna Nelson-Mckie. Traces of Past & Present Caribbean. Research behing the influence of the
Celt Vessel-Bag (2023). ”The inspiration behind the bag was about merging the past & present. I was trying to figure out what materials would be appropriate to use, what prints would be appropriate to use, how would I be able to acknowledge the past & present within this artefact. I tried to include some sort of balance between the past & the present, in terms of the materials.
For example, the leather that the bag is made out of that was inspired by the craftsmanship in Jamaica. I felt that was something that was about the present, and then the merging of prints from the Taino artefacts, the image of my grandmother in Jamaica. And then having the outcome be this functional object, but then also having it as a decorative piece. When I was exploring the Taino, and how they were really into decorative practices as well - and then thinking about present Caribbean now, and the decorate practices…It was again a merging of those two. I had to really consider, how am I gonna get this vision that I want - how I want people to view this artefact. How am I gonna bring a balance for these two things.”
(Left) Taino bird figure made of wood. Claimed to be from Dominican Republic (Ostapkowicz et al. 2013) - sourced from British Museum Collections. (Middle) Fishpot from Jamaican Gleaner article Objects from our Past. (Right) Celt image from Origins of the Tainan Culture West Indies by Sven Lovén.
Videos courtesy of Deanna Nelson-Mckie. ”I think in terms of my accomplishments, it means a lot in terms of what I know that I’m capable of producing, work that I’m proud of, and work that means something to me. And that was the first step into me really figuring out, what it is I wanna say as an artist, what it is that I wanna keep exploring. This bag was definitely a vessel for the starting point of my journey as an artist, and what I want to say, and the stories and knowledge I want to bring forward.”
Jeano Edwards, Familiar Strangers (film). “We have to inherit everything here . All the joy and the fun, and the happiest moments here. Because one day our eyes will close.”(On how the reaffirmation of Black Caribbean modern identities can nurture love & self-acceptance? ) “I think for me, for one, looking at the past and what's come before, is definitely one of the things that helps me nurture love, and self acceptance within myself in my culture. And really understanding what's come before and the culture that's developed as well. And like the beauty of it, you know. Because I think, in some ways, we have lost a lot of smaller cultural methods and lifestyles, in terms of Caribbean culture. And so I think, when you tend to look back and think, ok, this is what we were before, this is how we developed. And, you know, there's beauty in both sides, as well. I think by understanding how the people have lived and created an existence for themselves - there’s definitely power in that. And how we always strive to create new as well. So yeah, I think giving yourself the knowledge of what's come before, and what is now and really understanding the in-between as well; is really a great place for self love and for self acceptance within your culture.“
Image courtesy of Deanna Nelson-Mckie. “Growing up, I was always familiar with my culture in terms of normal things like food and, parties and how we do things. But then, as I got older, I started to delve into the spiritual side of my culture, like ancestral methods of things - like herbalism, and things like that. So my relationship with my culture has definitely evolved over time, and I have a lot more love for it than I did before. Not to say that I didn't love it, but because of the knowledge that I have, now, I can appreciate it more and I can love it more. And then obviously, bring that knowledge into my work and my practice, and then bring that back out to share with others.”
Image courtesy of Deanna Nelson-Mckie (left & right).
“When I went to Jamaica, this year was my first year going. For one, just being in the sun, and being able to connect that way in my grandparent's homeland, my homeland, (like it was kind of a still trip for me). And as much as you know, I like being in the UK, it's like, I've always felt that disconnect between here, and my ancestral homeland. So to be back there, really be in that environment, I had a feeling of wholeness within myself. And a happiness that I don't think I have here. The lifestyle that I was living out there, it humbled me; not in the sense of like, oh, I have all this in the UK, and, I don't have the same things as I do there. But it was more of a sense of community, and even things like grounding yourself within nature. Which is something that I wanted to do a lot more, especially when I was delving deeper into spirituality when it came to my culture. So I finally got to experience that when I went. So it was more of the gratefulness of what I was actually getting, when I was out there. And confirming what I knew I was missing out on. ”
“Easter is big in the Caribbean, because of the culture around that. So experiencing Easter time here, with my grandparents and my family - that’s always something that connects me to my culture a lot. Whether that’d be the type of food we’d have, traditional Caribbean food you’d have at Easter, or the UK type of food you’d have. That for me, definitely connects me to my culture, in terms of that experience. And I guess also music for sure, whether that’d be at family functions - and you hear reggae music come on, or you hear love ?- you get that feeling of home. Even though you’re not there, you still feel like you’re experiencing home.”
Poster design by Sal:mender magazine. Half-figure with canopy, designed with a Jamaican stamp from 1978 (artist unknown), representing an Arawak artefact found in 1792.
“ When I was on my journey of discovering more about my culture, the past of my culture, and looking into Rastafarianism, and looking into herbalism and things like that - is something that I’m now including into my life and lifestyle. Reading books on herbalism, and getting to understand my culture in that way, was really for me. It’s helped me understand my culture better, and then also helped me to understand myself more. Even what I enjoy about it, what I appreciate about the methods about my culture.”
Poster design by Sal:mender magazine. Standing figure (left), Birdman (right), designed with a Jamaican stamp from 1978 (artist unknown), representing an Arawak artefact found in 1792.
Image courtesy of Deanna Nelson-Mckie.
“In terms of self-love, going back to herbalism, that in itself to me, is self-love. Taking care of my body, nourishing it. Then also developing my spirituality, and tapping into myself more - understanding myself, the person I am, who I want to be. Grounding myself more into nature, those specific things have really helped me on my journey to self-love fore sure.”
Wizkid, Made in Lagos (album cover) 2020.
(On a song that represents self-love for her: Blessed by Wizkid) “Whenever I listen to that, it always makes me feel like I’m blessed. Like I can tackle the world, it gives me a sense of peace and self-love.”